Multifunction peripherals have become more and more common in the workplace and in the home. Typical multifunction peripherals often combine the functions of printing, faxing, scanning, and copying into a single device or system. Previously, offices may have had to purchase a printer for computers to print, a facsimile machine to transmit and receive faxes, a scanner to scan documents, and a copy machine to make copies. Now all of these functions are being combined in a single device to save workspace and provide significant cost savings and efficiency. In addition, some multifunction peripherals may provide digital sending capability that enables users to scan a document into digital form and then send the resulting digital document.
While a single multifunction peripheral may provide many different functions, it may not be the case that all individuals should have access to all of the capabilities thereof. In some cases, specific individuals may be provided with access to specific functions using some sort of security or authentication routine that limits access to specific functions to specified users. However, as more and more different functions are integrated into multifunction peripherals or any other machine that limits access to specific functions in a similar manner, the security and/or authentication systems used with such devices have to be restructured in order to limit access to such new functionality. This results in inefficiency and additional cost to adapt previous security and/or authentication systems for new functions on a device of restricted use.